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Crown & Crumpet in Ghirardelli Square

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http://www.ghirardellisq….llisq/index.htm

Spent a nice afternoon at Ghirardelli Square at Crown & Crumpet for a bridal shower. Sorry no pictures of the tea party of my own since one of the bridesmaids took all the pictures.

Crown & Crumpet is a very cute tea house, the third I’ve been to in SF. First was Secret Garden and second time at Samovar Tea Lounge. Their scones were delicious and they had this really nice strawberry fields green tea, light with a hint of strawberry flavor.

It was a beautiful day in SF so I walked down to the water while I waited for Ron to pick me up.

I didn’t get up early enough to walk the Bay to Breakers but I heard it was quite the event.

Tartine Devil’s Food Layer Cake

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http://www.epicurean.com/…yer-recipe.html

I still have not been to Tartine Bakery but have been wanting to try out this recipe for their Devil’s Food Layer Cake. My friend PK asked us over for a dinner party/birthday party for her husband, so the perfect occasion for baking a decadent cake!

The original recipe is here.

Altered a bit in that I didn’t have two cake pans so used two different sized springform pans. Plus I messed up on the chocolate ganache. I didn’t use bittersweet chocolate but instead used unsweetened chocolate+sugar. It didn’t set up right in the cream so I ended up making a chocolate whipped cream to use instead.

Here is the first three layers with the caramel sauce on this layer. I even made my own fresh caramel sauce! On top of the caramel sauce will be the chocolate whipped cream then the last layer of cake.

Then the entire cake is frosted with the remaining chocolate whipped cream, decorated with fresh raspberries and a message. Finished product:

The lopsided look is from the two difference sized springform cake pans I used, a 10″ and 9″. Next time if I want the tiered look, I think I’ll need to use the 10″ and the 8″ so there is more of a size difference.

PK made some fresh strawberry ice cream that went perfectly with this dense cake, without it, eating an entire slice would have been very difficult.

Chef Yuyu Za Zang

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http://www.yelp.com/biz/yuyu-za-zang-oakland

I was in Oakland working so had the opportunity to go to one of my favorite places for lunch. I remember it as being called Chef Yu but upon searching for it, it’s actually called Yuyu Za Zang. Parking is kind of hard in the area, especially when there is a funeral nearby, and today there seemed to be cops out in full force so even parking meter parking makes you anxious that your time will expire. If you live in the area, it’s probably great for take out.

Ron and I had lunch together so we ordered two dishes. This is the original za zang noodles.

This was a little bit plain, I think I prefer the other one, I think called “gan za zang” which has other things in it. The spicy soup noodles are really good though, it’ll make you cry with happiness. Their noodles are fresh, chewy, and not too thick.

Ron ordered the fried chicken, much better than Za Zang Noodles in SF because it’s made with a lot less breading so you taste more chicken. The sauce isn’t as vinegared so you can still breathe in while eating (have you ever tried to inhale strongly vinegared food while it’s still steaming hot?).

The deep fried stuff comes a bit slower so if you’re in a rush, this might not be the best place to have lunch. I had an hour lunch and we had to rush to eat to get back in time.

Your meal is served with the pickled yellow turnip, raw onions, and bean paste. Rice is separate. They serve tea or water.

They also have Chinese food which I haven’t had a chance to try yet. I like the noodles too much, can’t wait for the next time I get to work in Oakland 🙂

Yuyu Za Zang
3919 Telegraph Avenue (between 39th and 40th St)

Mother’s Day

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We went to Dublin to have Mother’s Day dim sum and tried some interesting dishes.

Here is a taro bun with salted duck egg. Just the right amount of sweetness and saltiness and the bread so fresh and delicious.

This is a breaded fish wrapped in noodles. This is a version of zha liang except stuffed with fish. This has to be eaten really hot or else the breading gets soggy. Great with the sweet soy sauce provided.

After lunch, I went to my parents’ house to do laundry. I really really really miss having our own washer and dryer. It was so nice to use theirs, they just seem so much stronger than the ones in our apartment, the clothes come out cleaner and the dryer works so much better.

While washing and drying, I played with Happy. She loves her Loofa dogs. She chews on the squeaker until she gets it out then removes all the stuffing while she’s at it. She is very happy, so cute!

Here she looks like an evil dog…

Next time I go to Pet Food Express I’ll have to get her more of these Loofa dogs, in the 2 years my parents have had Happy, she’s gone through at least 10 of them…